Straight tuck end (STE)
The straight tuck end shown here is the most common mono carton. Both tuck flaps hinge from the back panel, so they fold the same way and the seams sit together on the back.
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Dieline templates for custom boxes
Print-ready dielines for every standard box construction, with cut lines, crease lines and glue areas marked to trade convention. Open them in Illustrator, CorelDRAW or any vector editor, drop your artwork onto the layout, and the design will fit the box first time.
Read this before you start designing
These templates are drawn at an example size. A dieline is specific to your product’s real dimensions and to the caliper of the board it will be made from — thicker board needs wider creases and different tolerances, so a template scaled to a different size will not fold squarely. Use these to design against and to understand the construction; we will draw the production dieline to your actual measurements and board, free, with your quote.
Rigid box wrap
A rigid box is not folded from one blank. The greyboard tray is made first, then the printed wrap shown here is applied by hand — which is why the lead time is different.
Roll-end tuck front mailer
The roll-end tuck front needs no glue: the side walls roll up and the front panel tucks into the base, so the box assembles flat-packed and by hand.
Crash-lock bottom (auto-bottom)
A crash-lock (auto-bottom) base is glued flat at the factory and locks itself square as the box is opened — worth the extra board when packing speed matters.
Sleeve
The sleeve is open at both ends and glued on one seam only. It is the tray inside that carries the product, so the two are drawn and sampled together.
Window box
The aperture is die-cut in the front panel and a clear film patch is applied behind it. Keep the window clear of creases — a window across a fold will not sit flat.
Reverse tuck end (RTE)
On a reverse tuck end the top flap hinges from the back and the bottom from the front, so they fold in opposite directions. It nests better on the press sheet and wastes less board than a straight tuck.
Gusseted shopping bag
The gussets fold inward so the bag collapses flat, and the turnover at the top is what the handles are fixed through — a bag without it tears at the holes.
How to use a dieline
Open the template in your vector editor and keep it on its own locked layer. The solid lines are where the knife cuts, the dashed lines are where the board is creased to fold, and the shaded panel is the glue tab that bonds the side seam. Nothing on the dieline layer prints — it exists to position your artwork.
Design onto the panels beneath it, and extend any background colour or image 3 mm past every cut line. That bleed is what stops a white sliver appearing on the edge when the die shifts fractionally, and it is the single most common reason artwork is sent back. Keep text and logos at least 3 mm inside the cut line for the same reason, and well clear of creases — type that crosses a fold cracks.
Remember which panels face outward. On a tuck-end carton the glue tab is bonded behind the adjacent panel, so any artwork on it is hidden. Dust flaps are barely visible once assembled. If you want printing inside the box, say so — it is a second pass and it is priced separately.
When the artwork is ready, send it as a print-ready PDF in CMYK with fonts outlined and images at 300 dpi. Our artwork guidelines cover the full spec, and our printing glossary explains every term used on the template. We preflight every file before it reaches the press, and we will tell you what is missing rather than printing it wrong.
Send us your artwork. We’ll quote today.
Quantity, size, substrate, colours and finishing — with those five details most jobs are quoted the same working day.
Or call 0327 2777728